We were looking for the three countries in which Swahili is the official language. Our answer? Uganda -- Tanzania -- and Kenya...the three biggest countries in East Africa. East Africa is also the location of today's Global Hit.

Music is a vital part of East African culture. And activists in the region are using music to address something else that's unfortunately become a big part of the region's culture as well -- AIDS. As many as seven percent of the region's adults carry the AIDS virus -- HIV. But there is some good news in the region. A report released today by the UN documents a decline in the prevalence of HIV in Kenya. Experts attribute that news at least in part to ads and public service announcements touting AIDS awareness.

But many people in the region can't read, and many don't even have a TV or a radio. For others, ordinary media just doesn't hit the spot. That's where the music comes in. Reporter Jonah Eller-Isaacs has been traveling in Kenya and Tanzania and has our story.

Effective AIDS education in Tanzania relies on reaching out to teenagers. In Tanzania's urban areas, locally produced hip-hop is popular among teens and the genre dominates the charts and the airwaves. And since that age group also faces a particularly high risk for HIV transmission, hip-hop has become a crucial messenger for health activists.

"Ishi" in Swahili means "live." It's also the name of a government-sponsored organization that's successfully promoting safe sex. Ishi has employed the top names in Tanzanian hip-hop to bring their message home. Their theme song is titled "Usione Soo," or, "Don't Be Shy." The song encourages people to talk about sex. Ishi Outreach Coordinator Nassoro Ally says the song is in constant rotation on music television and radio.

Ally: "We have TV ad, we have radio ad, we use magazine, we use billboard, so it reaches a lot of youth who are able to read and write and for those who are not able to read and write, we reach them through our community concerts. It has a big impact."

Ishi Starz is the supergroup for the Ishi organization. Several other groups in Tanzania are picking up on Ishi's model of musical health education. One non-governmental organization has even opened a recording studio to help local hip-hop MC's record their rhymes. A group of teens is in the studio. They're putting the final touches on a whole album of songs focused on health issues. The track, "Elimika," or, "Get Educated," says getting informed is the path to survival.

These teen artists are at a susceptible age, where newfound sexuality meets a nation struggling with AIDS. But with hip-hop, they've found a way to discuss the disease with their peers. Cross the Tanzanian border north into Kenya, and you find a younger - and unlikely - group of popular musicians singing about AIDS education.

In Karen, a suburb of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, there's a refuge for orphaned children living with HIV. It's called Nyumbani, which means "home" in Swahili. Unlike the slums that house some Tanzanian hip-hop artists, Nyumbani is an oasis behind lush bougainvillea-lined walls. Since 1992, Nyumbani has provided children with care and desperately needed treatment.

John Mwiro is 13. He's been at Nyumbani for practically his entire life. He's also a member of Nyumbani's choir, known as "Watoto wa Mungu," or "Children of God." Mwiro says that he sings in the music group to encourage others.

Mwiro: "I sing in the music group to tell the other young artists coming up that they should not give up. Come forward. It's another way of explaining that you can live a positive life, a very good one."

John Mwiro and the Watoto wa Mungu choir have recorded a CD, "See the Light." It's become a chart topping hit in Kenya. And the album has opened Kenyans' eyes to the plight of orphans living with HIV.

The kids of the Nyumbani choir have become celebrities. At one concert, the First Lady of Kenya praised the success of Nyumbani. But the biggest attraction was the children themselves. Led by the Watoto wa Mungu choir, they performed an adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz." The Dorothy character wore a tattered pair of red slippers. She clicked her heels and said, "There's no place like Nyumbani." The success of the Watoto wa Mungu choir, these "Children of God," shows how music can break down walls for youth who are confronted by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In Kenya and in Tanzania, some kids have found that their fighting words are best heard when they're sung.

For The World, I'm Jonah Eller-Isaacs.